Patriot Viper 3 Series Black Mamba PC3-19200 16GB (2x8GB) Review

You may be having a bit of déjà vu or wondering what is wrong with the reviewers here at OCC as you swore up and down that we’ve already done this review. Well, this time, it’s not just you; OCC has looked at this RAM previously (as it is what we use in our test beds). Senior Reviewer ccokeman did this nice write up back in September on the 4GB sticks. Today we look at the exact same gear, but this time a little higher density: 8GB sticks. Like the last sticks, this Patriot kit packs the same punch as it is just the bigger version of the Viper 3 Series Black Mamba PC3-19200 kit rated at 2400MHz with a CAS latency of 10 at just 1.65v. We’ve seen a few of these Viper kits on the past and current market with good records of pushing the limits in overclocking (the 4GB sticks did push to 2800MHZ). So let us hope for the same/similar push.

I thought I would point out there in the introduction, as a person who often cares a little about the colors I combine in my rig, the Viper 3 Series (not Black Mamba, obviously) is available in some other colors as well: black, red, blue, and green, as well as in sizes of 4GB to 32GB in a range of 2GB to 8GB stick sizes. A variety of timings and stock starting speeds are available for play as well if you are or aren’t into overclocking your memory. Although not as many things are dependent on memory these days, it’s still nice to have tight timings and faster speeds for that small percentage boost – because my rig is better than yours. Fun aside, let’s take a trip and look at the packaging from Patriot again for refreshers and then see how far we can push these. Let’s hope we can match ccokeman’s results.

Most times you don’t spend much time looking at packaging when you buy something, unless you’re looking at the store, but you often open up a NewEgg box determined to install your new hardware. Here I get to force you to look at some of the packaging your products come in – good and bad.

The Patriot Viper box for the Black Mamba 2x8GB kit strongly follows the "black" theme throughout (not sure if the green, red, or blue sticks follow the same – but I would guess they might). Rather than a flashy rendering or Photoshopped image of the product, you have a little window cutout showing you the RAM stick and heat sink itself. The box reads clearly DDR3, advanced cooling, and 100% hand tested. There's no doubt you are getting DDR3 – so no complaining about figuring out what type of RAM you've got here. An icon for XMP is in the lower left corner followed up with "Designed for Intel 6/7 Series Platforms". I'm guessing this box is likely also used for other Viper Black Mamba sticks, as there is a sticker on the packaging to read 16GB as a 2x8GB Kit. It goes further to read the PC3-19200 2400MHz to define these specific sticks. My guess would be Patriot smartly designed standard boxes to use with multiple products since few of you care about the box itself anyway.

The back of the box reads on about excellent performance, high performance heat shields, and limited lifetime warranty in nine different languages for you to sit and attempt to read out loud. There is a back window as well that allows you to view the back labels on the sticks – or in this case what appears to be a neat lightning bolt sticker (GO FAST!!! – See the shot below; perfect for the beer fridge). Pulled from the box the two sticks are in traditional consumer RAM packaging of formed plastic that holds each stick clipped in place. The packaging is even easy to open; no need to find scissors or a knife that you may cut yourself with. The packaging is truly friendly to those of us ready to just GO when it gets here – and for that I commend Patriot.

The Viper 3 might be the newest member of Vipers in the Patriot lineup, but by no means is it just a complete repeat of previous generations. It features another iteration of the Viper heat sink with a thin aluminum shield that is slightly taller than the Division 4 or Viper Extreme sinks at just 41mm. Airflow cutouts are at the tops of each stick and, much like heat sink fins, provides a bit of convective cooling with added flow from your CPU fans (unless you are running water, of course).

The front of the stick reads a nifty VIPER logo in the center of a striped resonator-shaped tubing design. A Patriot Memory logo in white is centered between the heat sink cutouts on both sides. The back of the stick (or front depending on how you look at it) has a sticker where the VIPER logo might normally be seen. It has the model number, markings for a 16GB kit, speed, timings, DDR3, voltage, and confirmation that it is UDIMM (or unregistered). A nice little warning is included to remind you to leave the sticker as you found it as the warranty is void if removed.

The true PCB beneath the spreaders isn't black like the name may lead you to believe, but like most DIMMS is standard green. The glorious circuitry and dreams of soldering like the machine that put these together can be thought up when viewing it. In all honesty I prefer my stick in the nude with their full story exposed – in any color board (perhaps because I love the work that goes into making them), but the spreaders can be just as cool. Enough about the looks – you want PERFORMANCE. Carry on…